Suspect in Stalking of Detective Surrenders

A 23-year-old man--who Los Angeles police allege cloned a detective’s pager, tapped telephone lines and is potentially “very violent”--surrendered Tuesday in what authorities say is a highly unusual stalking case targeting a detective conducting a criminal investigation.

Assaf Waknine of Encino was being held at the Parker Center Jail on $1 million bail, said Lt. Tony Alba, an LAPD spokesman.

Police declined to identify the detective or discuss the investigation. But a police source said the probe involved organized crime activities involving Waknine and associates. It is believed the associates deal in illegal weapons, the source said.

As a result, detectives from the department’s Organized Crime and Intelligence Division persuaded a court commissioner to raise Waknine’s bail late Tuesday to $1 million, police said. If he posts that bail, detectives also intend to ask prosecutors to seek a special court hearing to determine whether the money was obtained legally or from criminal activities.

According to police, Waknine obtained the officer’s pager number and was able to receive his pages. Waknine, who police said also uses the surnames Oiknine and Levy, knew who was paging the detective and from what telephone numbers.

Waknine also tapped telephone lines used by the detective and others, police said.

An Israeli who lives in this country on a visa, Waknine is being held on suspicion of six felonies--including stalking, perjury, threatening an officer, giving false information, eavesdropping on confidential information and obstructing a police officer during the course of his duties, Alba said.

“This is unusual because of all those counts against an individual,” Alba commented.

As part of their investigation, detectives from the organized crime unit last week searched five homes, including four in the San Fernando Valley, and four expensive cars belonging to Waknine, Alba said.

The homes were in Studio City, Woodland Hills, Van Nuys, West Hills and in Tustin in Orange County. The cars included a Ferrari, police said.

The search warrant remained under a court seal, and the investigation is continuing.

But because of the nature of Waknine’s threats and his connections to others with weapons, police said they considered him a potential threat to the officer. “He associated with very violent people,” the source said.

Police declined to reveal the threats Waknine allegedly made to the officer, but they said Waknine was being taken seriously. Police believe he acted alone.

Detectives from the organized crime unit declined to discuss the case, except to say that the investigation is continuing.